Metal's other face

No Face lead singer has a soft side

Steamboat Springs  When No Face lead singer Guy Delhierro emerged from the dark recording studio after finishing his band's first CD, onlookers saw tears in his eyes. It's not an emotion many would expect from a heavy metal musician.

"When I finished the song, I stepped into the light and saw the look on their faces. They were speechless," Delhierro said. "I was exhausted and emotional, and that's how everyone else in the band is, too."

On stage, No Face is full of raw emotion, feelings and heart. Delhierro writes songs about personal issues and life's challenges.

"A lot of it comes from the torment of my life and the things I dealt with growing up," Delhierro said. "I had to grow up really fast."

Delhierro is not ashamed to admit he had drug problems when he was younger and dealt with an alcoholic mother who also abused drugs.

"I had to see her go through it, and I got caught up in it, but I've been clean for 10 years now," Delhierro said. "I learned some valuable lessons and watched a lot of close friends die."

Delhierro said music is his self-induced Prozac.

"It's like medication to keep my head level. If I didn't have music, I wouldn't be a very good person."

He attributes his happy-go-lucky attitude to his music and getting to share it with the three other members of No Face. The Denver-based band has been together for three years.

Band members chose the name No Face as a metaphor for their decision to not promote individuality.

"One of the things we do is paint our faces, because it's a symbol of who we are," Delhierro said. "We all have individual face paint that we've developed for ourselves."

It takes a half-hour before each show for Delhierro to apply face paint to each band member.

"It's a process I go through," he said. "Most of it stays on, for the most part, and by the time I'm done, it's just like skin."

The face-painting process has been refined over the years. After applying the first layer of paint, Delhierro uses a spray sealer and two layers of powder. Another coat of spray sealer finishes the job.

"I've got it down to a science," Delhierro said.

Some of the band's fans have begun painting their faces for No Face shows. "It's kind of exciting when you see those people," Delhierro said. "It's neat to see someone following you and doing what you do."

Being a musician is something that runs in Delhierro's family, but his musical style hasn't earned the approval of at least one member -- his father.

"He gives me a hard time because he thinks it's gonna ruin my life," Delhierro said about heavy metal music. "But I tell him it's such a good part of my life and he has no clue what it does for me."

He's still waiting for his dad to see him perform.

"It would mean a lot to me if my dad showed up for one of my shows," he said.